Sick
by Scotia Daniel
Summary: There was nothing worse for Donatello than getting sick. Nope. But when a certain red head comes down and finds him as sick as he is all alone in the lair, he decides that maybe being sick isn't all that bad after all.


To Donatello, there was nothing worse than a cold. Nope. Nada. Zippo. It meant he couldn't go on patrol. Meant even working on an invention would send him into a massive migraine. Meant training would make him run to the bathroom needing to puke.

So all in all, he couldn't do anything he loved. Splinter forced the mutant to either lay in his room or on the couch pretty much doing nothing until he got better. And when Donatello got sick, he was sick for a while. And he'd always have all the symptoms. Fever, chills, nausea, name it and he probably had it.

Laying on the couch, Donnie stared up at the ceiling of the lair bundled in blankets. His brothers were on patrol and Splinter was probably meditating in his room., which meant the mutant was all alone. Completely and utterly alone. And he hated it. Even trying to force himself to sit up hurt too much. So he just laid there pitifully.

"Hello? Anyone here?" A female voice rang from close by. Donatello felt a lump in his throat and bolted up. He regretted his decision when he became very light headed from the sudden movement, his eye sight blurring with dizziness.

"Donnie? That you?"

The mutant could hear April move around the couch to stand near him. "Hey, where are the others? I thought we could all do something tonight and-Donnie, are you alright?"

"Yeah...totally fine. Cool as a cucumber. As chill as-" Donatello tried to stand up to pretend he wasn't as sick as he probably was, but dizziness washed over him and he collapsed back onto the couch.

"Donnie!?" April was by his side in a heart beat. The mutant could feel her warm hands against his fevered skin and his head lolled to the cushion behind him, his breathing deep and sweat beaded his brow.

"Oh, Donnie, you're sick. Are you taking any medication for this? Where are the others?"

"Patrol." Donatello managed to cough out. "Won't be back for a while."

"And Splinter?"

"Probably in his room."

"And they'd just leave you like this?"

"Not really much they can do for me, April."

"Well what about medication? Soup?"

"April, we're mutants. It's not like we can waltz right into a drug store and pick stuff up."

"Oh, right..." Donatello watched April through heavy lids. He loved the way her brow furrowed with thought and how she scrunched up her nose while she contemplated.

"I have an idea. Wait here, I'll be right back." April raced from his sight. He wanted to crack a joke after her asking where he could go like this but his voice was caught in his throat and he could only cough.

Half an hour passed and he could hear the light footsteps of April O'Neil as she raced through the lair towards him. A moment later, she came into view and he lightly smiled at her. Donatello's eyes fell from her face to her arms which were holding a silver bowl, bag of popcorn, cans of soda and a bag slung around her arm with God knows what.

"Ugh, April-?"

"Shut up, Donnie. I'm making you feel better." She helped him sit up and tucked the blankets on the couch around him as snugly as she could. Donatello felt his face flush and he was pretty sure it wasn't from his cold.

Aprill grinned at her work and placed the bag on his lap. "Choose a movie while I go make some popcorn." She left before he could protest and Donnie flipped through DVD after DVD. He was surprised by the variety. There was everything from the Titanic to Nightmare on Elm Street to some Indie films he had never even heard of.

The smell of popcorn wafted through the air and made Donnie both want to drool and puke. April came back with not just a steaming bowl of popcorn but soup as well and plopped down beside him. "Choose a movie yet?" She handed him the bowl of soup and he gazed down at the chicken broth.

"Yeah. This one." He handed her the DVD as he sipped the soup. It was lightly salty but very satisfying and soothing to his throat and stomach. She looked it over and smiled. "Heathers? Really?"

"What? Is it no good?"

"No, just didn't expect you to chose this one." She went over to the T.V and put in the DVD. She came back and sat beside him, so close he could feel her warmth. He finished off the soup and set the bowl aside.

April took something out of the bag she brought and struggled to open it. "Here, have some of this. It should help with the cold and get you better a whole lot sooner." She offered him a purple looking liquid in a small cup. He eyed it and took it. Grape flavor. Not bad but it was sticky in his already aching throat and he struggled to keep it down.

"I know it's not the most beautifuly tasting substance in the world, but trust me, it'll help." April placed her hand on his arm and Donatello couldn't help but smile down at her.

April turned her attention to the T.V. and Donnie followed her lead. He watched the DVD menu pop up with Christian Slater and Winona Ryder. "What's this movie about again?"

"This chick who's part of this clique called the 'Heathers' that end up being real jerks, and when Veronica, the oddball of the clique falls for this bad ass guy, they accidentally kill one of the Heathers and kinda go on a comedic killing spree."

Donatello felt the skin where his eye brows would be lift up and he could only lightly nod. Half hour into the movie, Donatello realized he felt better. Drowsy, but better. He found he could hold down the popcorn with ease and his migraine was now a dull throb.

The mutant reached into the bowl of popcorn and his skin grazed April's hand. He made to pull away from embarrassment, but the red head only smiled and took his hand in hers.

An hour into the movie, Donatello was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Don't get him wrong, the movie was good, but the medication was really taking its toll on him. He gazed down to see April struggling to stay awake, her knees brought up to her chest to keep herself warm.

Donatello opened up the blankets and pulled her to him. She seemed confused and lightly struggled, but after realizing what he was up to, she let him tuck her in with the blankets and snuggled into the warmth.

By the time the movie was ending, Donnie was lightly dozing. He couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and his sick body wouldn't allow him to fight off the sleep. Quickly glancing down at April, he found that the girl was completely snuggled up in the blankets and had her head resting against his shoulder. He felt himself grin and lightly laid his head on hers before drifting off into a deep sleep. Suddenly, being sick wasn't all that bad.


End file.
